VF bust half. A few times a year I find one to add to the accumulation with the look I like

fishteeth · March 31, 2020 8:09AM

The grade of VF for bust half dollars has a wide range of quality. Many "VF" coins are dipped, cleaned, ugly, but may have good detail (strike). The VF coins I like to find are the ones where the poor strike often accounts for much of the wear. You can find VF bust halves with luster and really nice eye appeal that are often superior to EF coins at about half the price. After collecting Draped bust halves long enough you can often ID the Overton just by the strike characteristics.. For instance the 1807 O102 is my favorite draped bust half due to the incredible strike you get on the reverse. It is the one variety that you can see all the eagles neck feathers.
This 1806 Has some luster and a weak strike on the obverse, likely due to failing die. Yes it is a VF coin, but has superior eye appeal to most EF coins. This was my last purchase before the quarantine and is unfortunately currently trapped in the safe deposit box so stuck with using a tru view for the photo

Anyone else have some nice VF Draped bust halves. You are safe to post without fear of me trying to buy them from you because unfortunately I am out of the market for new coins until things get back to normal.

Boosibri · March 31, 2020 8:11AM

Great looking coin. Love your collection!

Barndog · March 31, 2020 8:51AM

What are the chances of finding a VF25 that looks better than that?

Boosibri · March 31, 2020 9:00AM

@Barndog said:
What are the chances of finding a VF25 that looks better than that?

Less than 5% in my opinion

fishteeth · March 31, 2020 9:03AM

I look at a lot of half dollars each year, thousands and only find a couple that I purchase. So I think Boosibri is right less than 5%. This includes coins at all grade levels from VG-MS64

jayPem · March 31, 2020 9:17AM

Hey, that's the look I like too!
No wonder I wound up with some of your cast offs over the years..😄

astrorat · March 31, 2020 9:30AM

VF ... my favorite grade! For Bust halves ... nice detail at an economical price. And yes, nice, original VFs are harder to find that one might think.